Home Stay Hello Everyone, I want to take some time and talk about my home stay experience. First of all, my time at LEX is not my first time coming to Japan. I may have stated it previous before in older post, but just in case I didn't or maybe you forgot, I have studied in Japan at two different universities. During those stays I lived in the university dormitories and I lived alone. Therefore, coming to Japan through Hippo has been a very interesting and fun experience. Coming through Hippo I got the chance to live with 3 different Japanese host families. At first I was very anxious and worried about living with a family. After all I do not live with my own family in the U.S. so going back to a family setting was troublesome, I thought. But OH, I was wrong. I lived in three different areas of Japan. The first place I lived was in Omiya, Saitama. It was a family made of 5 people. "Dad" "Mom" and three brothers. Of course I did not call them Mom or Dad, ...

Yearlong Preparation Camp (Ali) Yearlong Preparation Camp        This last week we has a week long camp for the students going to America (and one student going to Canada). It was really nice to get to know the students and spend time together. During the mornings and afternoons we had classes, essay writing, presentations, American culture, and US History. All of them were taught in English to get the students ready for school. I spent the mornings teaching US History. It has been so long since I've taught!         Every year the students going to the States struggle in their History class (which is understandable because American students also struggle). So I designed the history class to give them a basic understanding of early American history. This way when they first start school in America  understanding the lectures from their teachers would not be so overwhelming. Our first day together was spent learn...

Disney Sea (Ali) Hisashiburi! Sorry for the hiatus from the blog, things have been soo busy here at the Japan Hippo Office. So many things have happened! I've visited Korea, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi, My Mother and Grandmother visited from the US,  I am working with the 4-Hers that are here from the US, and there are two new interns here from Mexico and Romania! Sadly, I cant talk about it all.   But I will, however, tell you about my latest adventure to Disney Sea! Before summer vacation started here in Japan and the parks got crowded, I really wanted to visit one of the Disney Parks. However, finding people who are not busy when you also are not busy is a challenge. Everyone is so busy here in Japan!  I thought I wouldn't be able to go, but as luck would have it the new intern from Romania, Andra,was available and wanted to go to. Not only did Andra want to go, her host sister and her friends wanted to come too! Chiharu, Andra's host sister, and Shiho just returne...

Tuesday, January 28, 2014 Kansai: Kobe (Ali) Kobe Harbor                 My final stop in Kansai was Kobe. Originally, I wasn't supposed to stop in Kobe, but my Kobe host mother was having a workshop and asked the office if the visiting intern could attend. I am so happy she did! After attending the Kansai workshop for this year's Yearlong-sei and  Seishounen  on Sunday at the Osaka Hippo office, I went to my host mom's workshop.I think the goal of the workshop was to get members excited about going on homestays. At the workshop we heard from various Hippo members about their homestay experiences.  Yearlong-sei and  Seishounen also talked about where they were planning on going and what they were looking forward to. I was neat to hear everyone's stories. Kobe Luminarie              On Monday, I...

Kansai: Kyoto (Ali)        I was only able to stay two days in Kyoto, but I enjoyed the serenity this old city had despite my short stay. While there I was able to visit Nijo Castle. As a lover of history, visiting castles and temples is not only interesting but a calming experience. You can feel their age and all your worries seem so insignificant and fleeting in comparison. Stepping into Nijo, can feel power Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu had.  No expense was spared in the making of this castle, as everything was beautifully decorated.  Every room had exquisite wall paintings. The theme of each painting seemed to reflect the purpose of the room. The room for waiting lords was decorated in tigers and leopards, the room holding weapons portrayed hawks sitting in a pine tree, rooms for his advisers and administrators portrayed storks, ducks, and geese, while in his private quarters were scenes from a peaceful landscape. Even the floors were a wor...

Merry Christmas 「メリークリスマス」　(Daniel) A knock came at the door around eight in the evening, just as we were finishing eating dinner.  I yelled out, " IRANAI～～～ ", meaning "we don't need it", pretending that it was some late working door-to-door salesman. My host mom laughed and went to answer the door. She came back carrying a huge USPS box from America. Oops. Just kidding. I need that. I really need that. My parents in the US decided to surprise me for Christmas by mailing me a box of my favorite items from America. They somehow managed to pack a pair of pants, two jars almond butter, five boxes of gum, four giant chucks of  halva , and four packages of chocolate. I have no idea how my parents managed to shove all of that stuff into such a small box. But knowing my parents, there is always a way. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to receive my gift. Although my parents told me about the package beforehand, its physical presence was so overwhelming. I fe...

Bye-Bye Japan Unfortunately, time passes by and my year in Japan has come to an end. I had a great time working as an intern at  LEX/Hippo Family Club  in Tokyo. The experience taught me a lot, widened my world view, and introduced me to an amazing culture and people. After returning to Japan from China, the last 21 days in Japan were spent participating in good-bye parties all over Tokyo. Goodbye Party at Work Goodbye Party at Church Goodbye Party in Ota-ku (first host family) Goodbye Party in Saitama (second host family) Goodbye Party at the Airport  Wow, I had a lot of goodbye parties.  And no,  it's not because I'm super-duperly popular and I have a lot of Japanese friends who like to throw me good-bye parties. It's because the Japanese people I met, especially at HIPPO, are incredibly kind and thoughtful. They definitely set a wonderful example of how to make someone feel welcomed. How often do people come to visit...